AI Job Risk in Australia
Australia's economy rests on large mineral and energy exports concentrated in remote regions, alongside a services economy clustered in a few coastal capital cities, with vast distances separating the two. That geography shapes AI exposure directly: office-based finance, insurance, and professional services in Sydney and Melbourne face faster automation pressure, while mining operations, agriculture, and a growing aged-care and healthcare workforce spread across the country depend on physical presence that AI cannot substitute for.
Average AI Risk
43.35 / 100
Jobs Analyzed
204
How to read this page in practice
The notes below explain how to interpret the country score, what kinds of sector mix usually raise or lower it, and what this comparison can and cannot tell you.
How to Read This Country
Australia is best read by separating city-based knowledge and service work from resource extraction and care work spread across a huge, sparsely populated landmass. Banking, insurance, and professional services concentrated in state capitals sit in the exposed layer, since this work is standardized, digitized, and unconstrained by distance. Mining operations, agriculture, and the fast-growing aged-care and disability-support sectors sit in the durable layer, where site-based safety obligations, seasonal and environmental variability, and direct personal care keep human labor central regardless of how advanced supporting software becomes.
What Drives the Score
Employment concentrates in financial and professional services in the major capitals, a mining and resources sector that drives exports but employs a smaller, geographically remote workforce, and a large and expanding health and aged-care sector responding to an ageing population. AI pressure is strongest in mortgage processing, insurance claims, superannuation administration, and back-office banking. It moves more slowly through fly-in fly-out mining operations, farming tied to land and weather, and direct aged-care and disability support work, where an ageing population is increasing demand for hands-on human care faster than automation can substitute for it.
What Holds Up Better
The most durable roles combine site-based physical work with rising demand from demographic change: mining technicians and heavy-equipment operators, agricultural workers tied to seasonal and regional conditions, and aged-care and disability-support workers whose numbers need to grow simply because Australia's population is getting older. The sheer distance separating major cities from resource regions also means centrally designed automation is harder to roll out uniformly across the country, and remote and fly-in fly-out work schedules keep a premium on people who can be physically present on site.
What This Page Does Not Claim
A national score blends a handful of dense coastal service economies with vast inland mining and agricultural regions, plus a care sector expanding for demographic reasons unrelated to AI. It cannot show how much of the measured exposure sits in Sydney and Melbourne offices versus remote mine sites and farms hundreds of kilometers away. Read the score alongside geographic concentration and the demand pressure coming from an ageing population, not as a single uniform trend across such a large country.
Jobs Most At Risk from AI
This table is a current snapshot of the jobs that appear on the higher-risk side within this country profile. It is useful as a directional comparison, not as a permanent national ranking.
| Rank | Job | Risk Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Software Tester | 85 |
| 2 | Data Entry Clerk | 82 |
| 3 | Retail Cashier | 79 |
| 4 | Data Analyst | 79 |
| 5 | Bookkeeper | 78 |
| 6 | Accounting Clerk | 77 |
| 7 | Truck Driver | 77 |
| 8 | QA Engineer | 77 |
| 9 | Receptionist | 76 |
| 10 | Insurance Underwriter | 73 |
| 11 | Civil Drafter | 73 |
| 12 | Mobile App Developer | 73 |
| 13 | Software Engineer | 73 |
| 14 | Taxi Driver | 72 |
| 15 | System Administrator | 71 |
| 16 | Travel Agent | 71 |
| 17 | Bank Teller | 69 |
| 18 | Tax Preparer | 69 |
| 19 | Programmer | 69 |
| 20 | IT Support Specialist | 67 |
Jobs Safest from AI
This table shows the jobs that currently appear on the lower-risk side within this country profile. Read it as a structural comparison of work, not as a guarantee that these roles will stay unchanged.
| Rank | Job | Risk Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Surgeon | 10 |
| 2 | Therapist | 11 |
| 3 | Electrician | 11 |
| 4 | Plumber | 11 |
| 5 | Psychologist | 12 |
| 6 | Paramedic | 14 |
| 7 | Nurse | 15 |
| 8 | Dentist | 15 |
| 9 | Psychiatrist | 16 |
| 10 | School Counselor | 16 |
| 11 | Athletic Coach | 16 |
| 12 | Veterinarian | 17 |
| 13 | Machine Learning Engineer | 17 |
| 14 | Professor | 18 |
| 15 | Doctor | 19 |
| 16 | Air Traffic Controller | 19 |
| 17 | Social Worker | 20 |
| 18 | Fitness Trainer | 20 |
| 19 | Elevator Technician | 21 |
| 20 | Teacher | 22 |
Industry Risk
This table compares the industries that shape the country score today. It is most useful for seeing which parts of the economy pull the average up or down.
| Industry | Industry Average Risk Score |
|---|---|
| Retail | 62.5 |
| Finance | 59.87 |
| Technology | 54.78 |
| Transportation | 45.1 |
| Agriculture | 42.25 |
| Energy | 37.67 |
| Hospitality | 36 |
| Construction | 34.25 |
| Science | 32.33 |
| Education | 31.92 |
| Healthcare | 26.13 |
Frequently asked questions
Q.Which jobs are most at risk from AI in Australia?
In Australia, the jobs with the highest AI risk scores include Software Tester. The full ranking of the most and least exposed jobs in Australia is shown above.
Q.Which jobs are safest from AI in Australia?
The Australia roles least exposed to AI automation include Surgeon, which tend to rely on physical work, in-person interaction, or accountable judgment.
Q.How exposed is Australia to AI automation?
A country's exposure mostly reflects what its workforce actually does. Australia combines highly exposed office and back-office work with more durable physical, field, or care work, so a single national score is a broad signal rather than a full picture.
Q.Does a high AI risk score mean jobs will disappear in Australia?
No. The score measures how exposed typical tasks are to automation, not a forecast of job losses. Real-world adoption also depends on cost, regulation, and local labor conditions.